


Let loose

by AweburnPhoenix



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Breakfast, Domestic Fluff, Episode: s07e04 Millennium, F/M, Flannel pajamas, Fluff, Slow Romance, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22451578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AweburnPhoenix/pseuds/AweburnPhoenix
Summary: They have finally kissed. Now what?
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92
Collections: 2020 Reader Appreciation Collection





	Let loose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arlandria_22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlandria_22/gifts).



> «PROMPT: I really wanna know what happened between Millennium and Rush. Something has changed. Awkward moment when she gets out of the elevator, his need to justify himself after that girl looked at him,her playing with his tie... And I don't mean to go in direction that they had sex. But there was something more :) And I know timeline is screwed up between these episodes but let's say it's not.  
> GENRES: Fluff» 
> 
> So, I made this some kind of version 2.0 of my Flannel Pajamas fic, lol. It follows the premise that Rush goes after Millenium (despite the dates portrayed in the episodes) and that something essential changed between these two after that kiss. Enter canon-divergence :P  
> I've tried to stay 99.9% fluffy... This was tricky! 
> 
> Arlandria, I hope you like it. Thank you for ways leaving such nice comments on my stories. Love ya, girl :D
> 
> Endless Love to admiralty for the beta <3

  


  


LET LOOSE

  
  


As Scully drives him home, Mulder’s brain keeps working full speed. He’s done it, he can’t believe he finally got the nerve, again, to try and kiss her. The fact that _this Scully_ didn’t punch him makes him surprised, too. Maybe he should have tried it earlier.

Ever since he read her mind last summer, he’s been wanting to do it, but no moment seemed appropriate. Now he knows that what he heard her say with her mind was real. It was not just her scared mind, thinking that he was going to die, babbling about love. It seems that it was a deep-rooted feeling. And now he has to keep them moving forward.

She parks the car in front of his building and helps him out. Not that he needs it, he’s got just a mild scratch, no pain whatsoever. Maybe it’s the drugs. Or the _high on love_ feeling. Whatever it is, he doesn’t care. Any excuse to make her stay will do. After almost an hour drive, it is late enough for him to offer and not make it too weird. They had talked about retrieving his car, that had to stay in Maryland as he couldn’t drive it back, the following day.

“Maybe you should stay the night?” he asks, slightly afraid of her answer. “It’s late, it’s freezing, and I want to go with you tomorrow to get your car,” he adds any reason he can think of. “So, it seems highly convenient that you sleep here tonight.” _Not to add that I want you here, too_ , although he knows better than to say that last one aloud.

“I guess you’re right.” She doesn’t seem too sure, but she steps into the building anyway.

They ride the elevator in silence and Mulder offers Scully his keys so she can open the door, but she retrieves her own set from her coat. Was she already planning this?

“I’ll get a blanket and leave the bedroom completely for you,” he says quickly, stepping into his now delicately decorated sleeping space.

The gunmen still owe him an explanation about that, but he can’t complain. He’s been sleeping so much better since he’s left the couch. And the bedroom is going to be useful soon if his plans are fruitful.

“Mulder, I…” Scully starts, but she silences herself, thinking twice.

“Yeah?” Mulder turns around and perceives her cheeks turning red.

“I wouldn’t want you sleeping on the couch with a sprained arm. Maybe we can share the bed? Just this once,” she adds, quickly.

His face must be lighting up, because her demeanor changes.

“No funny business. We’ve done this, before… before.” She just stops, clearing her throat. “It’ll be easier this way.”

Memories of Kroner, Kansas, fill his mind. Memories of two days barely sleeping because he got to experience first hand Sleepy-and-Relaxed Dana Scully. He wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“I promise to behave,” he declares, lifting his left hand and trying so with his right on the sling, feeling a slight pang but ignoring it. “Will you be able to?”

She rolls her eyes like she always does and turns to the front door to leave her coat on the hanger.

“I guess this is a perfect time to give you this,” he offers her the package that has been sitting on his coffee table since Christmas Eve.

“Mulder, you shouldn’t have—.”

“Hey, that was Santa. I had nothing to do here…”

Scully eyes him suspiciously and sits on the couch to open the package.

“Besides, it is gonna come handy tonight,” he says as he approaches her, sitting on the arm of the couch.

“I thought this was from Santa?” she says, stopping the unwrapping to look up to him. “How do you know what’s inside?”

“Oh, you know, I asked for it in my letter. Go ahead, open it,” he hurries her up.

Mulder just wants to know if he got the size right. It’s been a while since he bought it, he couldn’t resist when he saw it. It was so different to what she wore in Krooner, but it seemed so cozy.

“You like it?” he can’t stop himself from asking as soon as she removes the lid in the box. “It seems like the perfect gift right now.”

“It’s really soft, thank you,” she says, caressing the fabric of the grey pajamas inside. “I’ll try it on.”

“I hope it fits,” he says as she gets up and heads for the en-suite bathroom.

“You’ve been measuring me?” She stops in her tracks, and turns around, a mischievous smile on her face.

Before he can say anything, she walks away, leaving him stunned. Was that an open flirt on her side? Those rarely happen, though he has to admit that there’ve been more of them lately. He’s thrilled. This is going fine. 

Five minutes later she emerges on the living room again, wearing the pajamas, which are slightly big on her. _Damn it, you should have gone with the smaller size_ , he blames himself.

“Perfect,” she proclaims, spinning around.

“You sure? They seem slightly loose…”

“Nonsense, it’s fine. Shall we go to bed now?”

His jaw drops. He can’t believe what she’s saying.

“Sleep, Mulder!”

  


—————————

  


Mulder wakes with a ticklish feeling in his nose. Scrunching it doesn’t work and he realizes he is warmer than usual. Has he left the hea on again? Oh, no, that’s not it. As he gradually wakes up, he sees that he’s spooning Scully’s body. His left arm is resting on her waist, her auburn hair is what was tickling his face, and now he is afraid to move. However, he knows he’ll have to do it, or his morning hard-on is going to be poking at her soon and he doesn’t want her to wake up to that. Or maybe he does? _This is not helping, man_ . He pulls his ass back a little, as softly as he can, and stays like that. Resting on his bad shoulder is probably not the best idea but he’s going to stay like this for as long as she lets him. Watching her sleep like that, calm and beautiful, it’s gonna be his favorite activity. _That is, until…_ He moves his lower body an inch further back.

Scully seems to be waking up, for her breathing has changed; so he pretends to be asleep, see what she decides to do. Mulder is happy she can’t see his panic face when she suddenly scoots closer to him, bumping into his bulge. She tenses, then relaxes again and he feels that playing it dumb is the best way out for the two of them, so he waits, frozen in his place. He puts his best effort into cooling down, but it is definitely not going to work with her being so close. All he can think about is sliding his left hand under her pajama top and running his fingers over her soft skin. Would she want that? She can’t possibly. Whatever he does, she still keeps him at arm’s length all the time. Maybe she’s still asleep now? Mulder tries to figure it out, her breathing is calm again and he can’t tell without seeing her face. Maybe it was merely a reflex, her cold body looking for warmth. 

Suddenly, her body tightens and she jumps away from him. _She’s definitely awake now_ , he thinks, letting out a sigh. So much for his wishful thinking. If it is going to take them another seven years to do the naked pretzel, he’s going to go insane, this time for real.

“Morning,” he says, as delicately as he can, not knowing whether to remove his arm from her or not.

“Mornin,” she replies, huskily. Her waking voice only helps to turn him on even more.

“D’you sleep well?” 

He is trying to push the conversation forward but she just nods and murmurs an almost inaudible “uh-huh”, her body still clenched. Mulder is not sure whether she’s just trying to evade his touch or maybe completely regretting the whole thing, so he decides to give her a break.

“I’ll have a quick shower, then we can get going,” he offers, detaching from her and heading to the bathroom.

When he’s out after some minutes she’s asleep again and he decides to wake her with breakfast. He’s not done the Full-on Romance Thing since college, but it seems like it wouldn’t hurt in this situation.

  


————

  


Scully is awakened by the smell of food and leaves the bed when her stomach reminds her she hasn’t eaten in quite a while.

She reaches the kitchen, walking on tiptoes so as not to make any noise. Mulder is cooking something, his back to her, and for a moment she delights in the view. He’s wearing a fitted grey t-shirt and the jeans make his tight ass stand out. _Damn it, Dana, why can’t you let loose a little?_ When she woke to his hard-on pressing into her back, her instinct was to move away, only to regret it a moment later. He may think she doesn’t want that and he would be so wrong. She wants him more than anything, but she’s afraid of saying it. She’s afraid of everything they’ve built up over the past years falling down.

Mulder has always been there for her; one way or another she’s always leaned on to him. And since the IVF fiasco she’s looked at him more dearly. Mulder has a soft side that he tries so hard to hide, a side that she’s fallen in love with so deeply. A side that she doesn’t want to be clouding her judgment, because she knows him too well. This thing between them will not end well as long as he is solely focused on his mission. She can’t keep dragging him out of the fire every single time, Scully needs more from him.

“Hey, you’re awake!” he surprises her, turning around. “I’m making breakfast. Sit there, I’ll be out in a minute.”

She suddenly notices that the dining table in the hallway is set for two, cloth napkins and all. Orange juice that doesn’t smell badly fills two glasses and there are a bunch of apples and bananas in a little basket. Mulder exits the kitchen when she sits in one of the chairs and he places a plate with a pile of pancakes in front of her. They look perfect, golden and round. The plate he leaves on the other seat holds less nice-looking pieces. Ever the charmer.

“So, you actually have fruit in the house?” she asks while he walks into the kitchen, using the moment to exchange their plates.

Emerging with two cups of steaming hot coffee that he sets on the table, Mulder stands still for a second.

“Doctor, you should know that a body like this can’t live on sugar and grease only,” he smirks her way.

He’s not angry, she is relieved. And he’s upped his game a notch. Well, she can live with that until she figures out what she wants to do about _them_.

Scully is about to get a mouthful of her pancakes but Mulder has noticed, and he steals her plate, returning the one he had saved for her initially.

“The best ones for you,” he mumbles with a bite of the _ugly_ pancakes in his mouth.

This all feels a bit too much. Too normal, too homey, too _not_ Mulder. Scully feels like some monster or hideous thing is going to come out of nowhere and ruin the moment. But nothing happens. Mulder is eating his homemade breakfast and so should she. Is this what life with Mulder feels like? She wouldn’t have imagined this in a thousand years, but she definitely could get used to it.

“I’ve been thinking…” he interrupts her internal strand of thoughts. “I could ask the insurance to tow the car back so we don’t have to go get it. I still shouldn’t drive, anyway,” he remarks, pulling up his right arm with a wince, “and taking a cab there would surely be more expensive.”

He talks so normally, as if they were _Mr. and Mrs. Whatever_ making plans for an ordinary day. 

“What d’ya think?”

He’s waiting for her answer, expectantly.

“Sure, it makes sense,” she answers and feels like a weight has been lifted off him shoulders, but it feels like it dropped on hers. What now? It’s only Saturday, and he knows she has no plans for the weekend.

“Nice. So maybe we can go say Happy New Year to the guys, or maybe visit your mother…”

She feels herself getting riled up. What if the guys find out? What if _her mother_ finds out? She doesn’t really feel like exposing herself. It seems too soon, this situation needs to settle for a little longer.

“...or maybe just stay home and watch a movie. Your call, no pressure.”

 _Your call._ That’s new, and she likes it.

Maybe this can work. Maybe she can try and relax a little, see where this is going.

“A movie sounds nice,” she says, calming down, while placing the cutlery on the plate and getting up.

Mulder gets the plate from her.

“I’ll take care of this, you go ahead.”

Spending New Years day cuddling with Mulder while doing a _Back To The Future_ marathon wasn’t in her plans a couple days ago. But now it seems to fit so well. She tries to enjoy the moment, let loose and hope that letting her heart take the reins for a while is not too crazy of an idea.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments always appreciated <3
> 
> ******
> 
> If you've ever left me a comment here or on twitter, use the spreadsheet below and add your prompt to get your personalized Thank You Fic <3
> 
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wPzh33-_8mcM_hFqi1qSqA4DRcI1VMx7SOZ-Jgxyo20


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